The 2018 Winter Olympics are over. We watched two 17-year-olds win gold medals in sports that didn’t exist when we were 17. The Garlic Girls, with nicknames from their favorite breakfasts, and the U.S. men’s team won medals in curling. No Miracle on Ice for the U.S. men’s hockey team, but the U.S. women’s team… Read More

The holidays came early for the financial services industry. First, the Senate voted to repeal the CFPB’s rule banning class waivers in arbitration agreements in consumer financial contracts. Then, Richard Cordray stepped down as CFPB Director. Former Director Cordray’s attempt to name his interim successor hours before submitting his formal resignation created dueling interim directors… Read More

Through hurricanes, wild fires, the publication of Hillary Clinton’s book, the birth of Amal and George Clooney’s twins, and the Dodgers’ historic losing streak, Director Richard Cordray and the CFPB’s Final Arbitration Rule are still standing. As my colleague Ollie Ireland explained, these days, it’s easier to predict the weather than it is to predict… Read More

A mere nine days after releasing its Final Rule regarding arbitration to the public, the CFPB has published the Final Rule in the Federal Register. This is significant because publication in the Federal Register triggers the countdown to the Final Rule’s effective date (60 days after publication) and ultimately its application to new agreements (180 days… Read More

Ending months of speculation and insider reading of tea leaves, on July 10, 2017, the CFPB issued a final rule regarding the use of arbitration agreements in specified consumer financial contracts (Final Rule). The Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on July 19, 2017. As was substantively expected, the Final Rule: 1) bars… Read More

Summer blockbuster season is officially upon us. Have you seen Wonder Woman yet? What about Guardians of the Galaxy Part 2? It’s déjà vu all over again with Baywatch, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alien, Planet of the Apes, Transformers, Cars, Spider Man, and more Inconvenient Truths from Al Gore all coming to a theatre near… Read More

In like a lion, out like a lamb—it works for weather; does it work for new administrations? We’ll have to wait and see. We’ll have to wait and see about the length of CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s tenure and the fate of Dodd-Frank, as it appears the Trump administration is focusing on other priorities. So… Read More

Hope you survived all of those awkward Thanksgiving holiday conversations—amazing how divided people are on whether the court got it right in the PHH case, isn’t it? So on we go into the holiday season, while visions of Dodd-Frank repeal dance in our heads. No long winter’s nap for the CFPB, not with the inauguration… Read More

So much for summer! The weather is cooling, the kids are back to school, and we better not see you wearing white so long after Labor Day! For those of you having a little trouble getting back in the swing of things, we thought we’d lead with just a few of the animals making headlines… Read More

The CFPB’s proposed rule on arbitration agreements in consumer financial product and services contracts was published in the Federal Register today. That means the 90-day comment period has started to run. Interested entities will have until August 22, 2016 to submit comments to the CFPB. For more information about the proposed rule, see our client… Read More

Surprising no one, the CFPB has announced a proposed rule that would effectively ban mandatory arbitration clauses in covered consumer financial services contracts. The rule continues to ignore the legislative and judicial findings embodied in the Federal Arbitration Act and the cases interpreting it, the well-documented abuses associated with class action litigation, and the methodological… Read More

Why another law firm newsletter? Over ten years ago, Will Stern answered that question in the first Editor’s Note of the first Financial Services Report. Some things have changed since then—we no longer print and mail paper copies, and we report on issues that were not even a twinkle in anyone’s eye back then (the… Read More

On Thursday, February 25, 2016, the CFPB held a Consumer Advisory Board meeting in which it outlined its forward-looking supervision and enforcement priorities. After the Board meeting, the CFPB published a summary of these priorities that promises the following, among other things, during the next two years: Rulemakings related to arbitration and debt collection; Rigorous… Read More

We are a full service newsletter, so we offer these can’t-miss Christmas gift ideas for the hard-to-please. Hoverboards are the “It” gift this season, but what about all the poor souls who don’t own one? We’ve devised a remote that lets you seize control from a distance and slam the thing in reverse, toggle forward,… Read More

In July 2005, Morrison & Foerster published the client alert “Consumer Arbitration Update.” Summary: A case decided by the California Supreme Court may have marked the end of the use of arbitration as a means of dispute resolution for companies that do business with consumers using standard form contracts. Now, a company that uses consumer… Read More

Just in time for the holidays, the CFPB released its Fall 2015 rulemaking agenda on Friday, November 20. The agenda does not include any major surprises, but it does slightly revise the projected timeline for several highly anticipated rulemaking activities. This alert lays out the highlights to consider between doses of turkey, football, and family…. Read More

On October 7, the CFPB announced that it is considering two rulemaking proposals that would severely limit the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer financial service contacts. Ignoring the well-documented problems and abuses associated with class action litigation, the Bureau has concluded that because class actions effect a greater aggregate transfer of wealth from… Read More

Today, the CFPB announced its proposals regarding arbitration agreements in consumer financial product contracts. In a move that has plaintiffs’ class action lawyers cheering, the CFPB proposes to require litigation of class claims in court. The CFPB will not ban arbitration of individual actions—at least not yet. Instead, it proposes to require companies to submit… Read More

The kids may be back in school, but it was the adults who got smarter. North Korea moved to its own time zone, so now it lags only a half hour behind everyone else. Think about it. Show up late for work but still be on time. Know that the bartender really doesn’t mean it… Read More

Wednesday, September 30, 2015 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT Join Morrison & Foerster Partners James McGuire and Nancy Thomas as they speak on the Bloomberg BNA Webinar, “The Other Shoe Has Dropped: CFPB Releases Report on Arbitration.” Program Description: Over the summer, the CFPB released its long awaited Report to Congress on arbitration agreements… Read More

June is crowded with celebrations. It feels like a Tokyo subway. June is the month of weddings, graduations, flag days, and dad daze. June 15 is the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. This month we acclaim Summer Solstice, Gay Pride Month, and National Aquarium Month. And who could forget National Accordion Awareness Month? Seriously?… Read More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released its long awaited Report to Congress on arbitration agreements in consumer financial contracts. The Report’s conclusion, and Director Richard Cordray’s remarks, were as expected: consumers are better served by litigation—and particularly, class action litigation—than by agreements to arbitrate disputes. But after spending almost three years analyzing the… Read More

Stay Connected

About MoFo

We are Morrison & Foerster—a global firm of exceptional credentials. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, investment banks, Fortune 100, technology and life science companies. We’ve been included on The American Lawyer’s A-List for 13 straight years, and Fortune named us one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.” Our lawyers are committed to achieving innovative and business-minded results for our clients, while preserving the differences that make us stronger.

The views expressed herein shall not be attributed to Morrison & Foerster, its attorneys or its clients.